Arrow Business Communications has made its first acquisition since securing a new war fund for further expansion. It has bought Leeds, West Yorkshire-based Altinet, an international provider of IT security and storage services.
Godalming, Surrey-headquartered Arrow specialises in telephony, data, IT and energy services for firms. It has seven offices, annual sales of over £49m and 245 staff.
Following a recent investment in Arrow by MML, Arrow says it is “rapidly evolving” its IT offering and the “fast growing” Altinet business provides an “ideal first acquisition” in the next phase of its growth.
All the directors and employees of Altinet will be remaining and will work within the Arrow group, with Daniel Bailey and Henry Doyle, founders of Altinet, continuing to lead a number of key customer relationships and day-to-day activities. The founders said: "We have been considering the best way to maximise the potential of our business and in Arrow we have found a great home.
“As a cyber security specialist we see this as the natural next step for the future growth of the firm. We are looking forward to working with the Arrow team in continuing to support our existing customers and working with Arrow clients on their security challenges.”
Altinet says it has over 400 customers, deploying a range of cyber security and storage solutions in both the private and public sector. It was recently named Barracuda EMEA partner of the year.
CEO of Arrow, Richard Burke (pictured), said: “Altinet represents the perfect first acquisition following the investment in Arrow by MML, offering us a broader product portfolio and extending our IT capability.”
Arrow was assisted on the acquisition by both Kemp Little and RSM, with Altinet advised by KPMG and Walker Morris. Graham Pearce from KPMG said: “The transaction enables Arrow to boost its existing IT services capability, progressing its diversification strategy. I expect to see other examples of this in the market as cyber security services are only going to grow in importance, as well as offering an attractive degree of adjacency to communications and wider IT services.”
Last year, Arrow opened a new flagship office in Glasgow for its three acquired Scottish businesses, to better support customers and partners. In 2018, Arrow bought Burton-on-Trent-based Cisco and Microsoft partner 360 Solutions, a specialist in the legal sector.
